Why Sales Rep Should Use Data Analytics?

Why do some sales reps consistently attain or exceed their goals, but others do not?

Many sales reps follow a certain way of doing activities. Adopting new processes, tools or technologies that bring changes to these activities often lead to resistance.

Sales reps usually rely on their personal knowledge and experience to manage their approach to the existing as well as new customers. In today’s competitive environment, to chalk out the sales strategies, just gut feelings are not sufficient. Data based insight a.k.a. analytics is the key factor to be a successful sales resource.

Sales analytics involves the practice of generating insights from sales data, trends, and metrics. The sales reps can then set targets and forecast future sales performance. It also helps to closely tie all activities to determine revenue outcomes and set objectives for your sales team.

In its recent article, McKinsey suggested, “driving sales growth today requires fundamentally different ways of working as well as outstanding execution across large, decentralized sales teams and channel partners. While many sales leaders accept this reality in principle, they don’t put sufficient energy or focus into driving that level of change. Advances in digital and analytics, however, mean that sales leaders can now drive and scale meaningful changes that pay off today and tomorrow.”

As a sales rep, if you think you don’t need data analytics, you must understand these 5 reasons why do you need data analytics?

Uncover more sales opportunities

Many trends in your customer’s buying pattern or behavior can be uncovered using the data. You can identify the gaps in the ordering cycle. Additionally, the data also helps you to identify the up-sell or cross-sell opportunities that can help you to focus your sales strategy to increase the sales volume with the existing products. Using your gut feel, you may continue to pursue a specific customer/s and invest more time and energy, but with the data analysis, you can point new complementary products that can quickly grow your sales.

Proactively manage challenges

There are chances where your customers start buying the products from your competitors. What if he starts buying less from you and more from the competitor? What if this trend goes for a few months? How would you even know the declining trend in his buying behavior? This may go unnoticed when you are working with multiple customers. Using the data analytics anywhere and anytime, you can track customer’s buying pattern and take the measures when you notice the negative trends before it impacts your company’s bottom line and your paycheck.

Easy to retain customers than finding new ones

Your data plays an important role in retaining your customers. There could be some undeserving customers due to the many reasons. They could be new customers and got lost in the sales rep position shuffle or they have contributed with large size orders over the past few years and now deserve better pricing or they were some loyal customers with steady and consistent orders but recently their sales in declined and are at risk of losing to your competitors. Engaging such customers at the right time requires you to recognize the signs before they take their business elsewhere.

Makes your life easier

Data analytics is available at the hands of the users and there’s no more dependency on the IT team. You don’t need to keep browsing multiple spreadsheets guessing where your next sale will come from or which customer you should go after. Access to the data on your fingertips helps you make the right decisions for you and your customers. Interactive charts and graphs help you to drill down the transactional data and go deep to the account that needs your most attention. This helps you to eliminate the guesswork and focus on what customer you can help the most while also helping you achieve your sales goals.

Get ready to perform

Imagine going into a customer meeting with their entire order history at your fingertips, or an understanding of their recent commitment to certain brand, style or size of product. How will that information shape your next product presentation or sales proposal? You can turn your customers into data advocates by reviewing with them weekly reports about their engagement with you. Could that information help them improve efficiencies, capitalize on sales promotions or recognize holes in their own ordering? As you share and use your data to help them, you show them that you are committed to their success, as well as your own.

Data analytics is a powerful tool for sales persons who are looking to maximize their performance, grow sales and retain customers. The results of implementing analytics are better revenue growth at the same or improved margins, quickly, while customer satisfaction improves.

Designed for Mid-Market Manufacturing, Distribution and Retail organizations, EZlytix provides you with the business insights that help to:

• Maximize gross margin
• Understand customer behavior
• Drive sales team
• Optimize prices
• Reduce customer attrition
• Find growth opportunities

Discover how EZlytix can produce superior sales performance at your company and improve growth, please get in touch with us.